Four Tauranga primary school children have confessed to watching pornographic movies and smoking cannabis while home alone after school.
The case was brought to the attention of police after a tipoff from Papamoa Primary School, which was not only concerned at the 10-year-olds' unsupervised after-school activities but with allegations that they
were selling cannabis to some of their schoolmates.
Details of the children's activities emerged after a mother found the remains of a cannabis joint in her child's bag as she was leaving for school.
The mother then notified the school authorities who spoke to the children -- three girls and a boy -- and they admitted they had been smoking cannabis and watching pornographic films after school.
The school then contacted the police, who referred the matter to its youth aid section.
Police then executed a search warrant on the house last week and arrested and charged one of the children's parents with cannabis possession.
Papamoa Primary School principal Kelvin Barnett blamed the incident on "children going home to empty homes". Two of the children were regular after-school visitors to the friend's house where they were caught.
He was unsure whether they smoked cannabis and watched pornographic videos on a regular basis.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
